In this issue:
Important Leadership Dates
A Message from the Chief Executive Officer
Do You Know SLA Members with Board Potential?
Call for Nominations: 2007 SLA Honors and Awards
Join Us at the 2007 Leadership Summit
2008 Annual Conference Changes to be Introduced at Leadership Summit
Reaching New Heights In Denver!
2007 Unit Officer Forms Due
Treasurers Alerted to Approaching Deadline
New RSS Feed Service for SLA Members Helps Divisions Share Resources
SLA Leadership Translates to Job Success
1 January 2007 |
New 2007 Leaders Take Office |
4 January 2007 |
2007 SLA Honors and Awards Nominations Due |
15 January 2007 |
List of Individuals Paid Over $600 in 2006 Due to SLA Headquarters |
24-27 January 2007 |
Leadership Summit, Reno, NV, USA |
31 January 2007 |
2007 Unit Officer Forms Due to SLA Headquarters |
31 January 2007 |
Chapter Visit Requests Due to SLA Headquarters |
A Message from the Chief Executive Officer - Effective Conference Call Protocols
Your SLA Board meets each month via conference call to more effectively and nimbly handle the fast-paced direction of your association. You, too, may be conducting conference calls throughout the year. To be effective, the organizational components of a regular meeting will be needed plus other protocol tips will enhance the conference call experience. Here are a few rapid-fire tips I've picked up along the way.
Try to use a "landline" rather than a speaker or cell/mobile phone for the calls. Since you cannot "see" the participants, keep the list of participants in front of you for easy reference. Each time you begin to speak, state your name. Be polite. If you must step away from the phone, please use the "mute" feature rather than putting your call "on hold". Don't eat or drink or chew gum while on the call unless the phone is on mute...and you're sure you won't be called on to speak.
Keep an "ideas" sheet handy for miscellaneous thoughts and questions (and doodles!) during calls.
Ask questions of your colleagues - give others a chance to add their comments - solicit input from those who may not say much. Poll each person if you've not heard from them even for items on which a vote is not needed. If a vote or consensus is needed and/or would be helpful, poll each person individually.
As the call concludes, you, as the call leader should state action steps and follow up methods. Notes from the call, with action items noted, should be sent within 24 hours to each participant and copied to other necessary stakeholders.
I hope to see you all at the Leadership Summit and maybe you will have some other tips to share with me then.
--Janice R. Lachance, Chief Executive Officer
Do You Know SLA Members with Board Potential?
The Nominating Committee is looking for the next leaders of SLA. The committee will meet at the SLA Leadership Summit in Reno, Nevada, January 24-27, 2007, to recommend a slate of nominees to the board for the 2008 association year. The committee is asking your help in identifying candidates for election to SLA's Board of Directors to take office January 2008. Find out how you can help to shape your association's future. Read more
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: 2007 SLA Honors and Awards
Do you know an info pro that goes above and beyond for SLA, someone who is pushing the limits and on their way to stardom, or someone who deserves some recognition for a lifetime of exceptional work? Now is your chance to shine a spotlight on them. SLA has opened the 2007 nomination process and the committee is eagerly awaiting your submissions. Nominate an SLA member for international recognition by 4 January 2007!
Join Us at the 2007 Leadership Summit
It's not too late to register for 2007 Leadership Summit, 24-27 January 2007 in Reno, NV, USA. This unique leadership development program offers attendees a one-stop opportunity to develop leadership skills in your career and also specific to volunteerism in SLA. Seize this chance to step back from your day-to-day routine and engage in group learning and skill-building exercises guaranteed to push your thinking and advance your leadership and management skills. At the same time you'll have fun and build lasting relationships with other information professionals. More information and a detailed schedule are available on the Web.
2008 Annual Conference Changes to be Introduced at Leadership Summit
In June, 2006, the Board of Directors formed a workgroup "to study the overarching issues of annual conference planning," and report back to the Board in October 2006.
This workgroup met over the summer and conducted surveys and telephone interviews to determine the sentiments of SLA members. They wanted broad input to their process in order to develop recommendations to the Board regarding the annual conference. The group reviewed all aspects during their deliberations and reported back to the Board as requested with approximately 17 action items contained in one document.
Read more about the theme for 2008 Annual Conference and the Board-approved changes.
The committee has decided on a theme for 2008. It is "Breaking Rules, Building Bridges." At the first planning meeting in Reno in January 2007, the committee will discuss the theme in more detail as well as all of the changes in more detail to be sure they are clear and understandable.
The Board unanimously approved the proposed conference model. The changes will go into effect for the 2008 annual conference and will stay in place for three years in order to measure the success of the changes. You can review the complete document on the SLA website.
The following are just a few of the exciting and new action items that will affect your planning activities.
- The conference will begin on Sunday evening and end on Wednesday afternoon with keynote addresses. The Wednesday keynote will be late afternoon and will be followed by a conference wide event. The purpose of this recommendation is to give a feeling of a defined start and finish to the conference. The Sunday keynote, according to our interviews, was well-received, though some adjustments to times are necessary.
- Leadership training will be expanded at the Leadership summit in January to include training for more unit leaders. This will cause a change in the leadership activities during the annual meeting.
- Divisions will be limited to 4-6 unique division-sponsored programs, including the business meeting and 2-4 co-sponsored sessions. Divisions with sections will be allowed an additional program per section. The surveys and interviews revealed that many of our members felt there were too many programs. It is hoped that this recommendation will encourage more cooperation in programming between the divisions and perhaps enable divisions to spend more resources on a fewer number of programs, thus increasing the overall quality of the conference.
- A series entitled "spotlight speakers" will be initiated. The conference planning committee, in consultation with the divisions, will select programs that will be highlighted in the program. The criteria for selection would be the program should have conference-wide appeal that could reasonably expect to pull in 250-300 people. Innovative programs with varied formats would be encouraged. These would still be division sponsored but they would be marketed differently and "spotlighted" in the conference program. Both the divisions and the Association could use these programs for marketing purposes for their mutual benefit.
- Varied formats for programs are encouraged as well as variable lengths of 60, 90 and 120 minutes for programs. This allows for more diversity and hopefully more interest in the conference. In addition, some programs with wide appeal could be repeated during the conference.
Questions regarding these recommendations before the Leadership Summit go to Chair Gloria Zamora gjzamor@sandia.gov.
Reaching New Heights in Denver!
Be among the first to register for the 2007 SLA Annual Conference which will be held in Denver, Colorado, USA this year. There are exciting keynote speakers and new programming. Mark your calendar. Registration and housing open the week of 8 January 2007. Please visit the conference web site to see more information.
2007 Officer Forms Due
Now that all units are on a common association governance year, it is time to report all 2007 elected and appointed leaders. 2007 presidents and chairs are responsible for completing the Unit Officer Form. Please complete the form listing the appropriate member name for each office and forward the form to Natalie Gozzard by 31 January 2007. To ensure the accuracy of our records, please complete the form even if your current officers are continuing through 2007.
It is important to note that units may choose to fill only selected positions which meet the needs of their members. The only required positions to be filled are those outlined in your governing document/unit practices.
SLA's Leadership Department collects this information primarily for communicating with the leaders common in most units. Expanding the title listing would increase the officer codes to 188 with the vast majority of the additional codes having only one position with that particular title, e.g., webmaster would expand to Web manager, Web administrator, Web editor, Web development chair, Web page committee member, Web communications team member, technology, Web, Internet, Internet committee chair, Web site administrator, Web mistress. Please continue to use the unique leadership titles within your unit in publications and your Web site.
Caucus conveners: please advise Leadership Associate Natalie Gozzard if there are any changes in convener, discussion list owner, or webmaster. Otherwise, we will assume no change.
Treasurers Alerted to Approaching Deadline
SLA's CFO/COO Nancy Sansalone has alerted treasurers that a list of all individuals who are residents of the U.S. (not corporations) who have been paid over $600 during the year 2006 (as determined by the date of the check(s)) is due to be received at headquarters no later than Monday, 15 January 2007.
NEW RSS FEED SERVICE FOR SLA MEMBERS HELPS DIVISIONS SHARE RESOURCES
We want your input! Through a recent partnership with NewsGator, SLA is now offering members a customized RSS feed service. The categories of pre-selected feeds are based on subjects of interest to SLA divisions, and these feeds are a great way to keep up with recent developments in your industry. To maximize the value of this service, we encourage you and the members of your units to submit suggestions for feeds of all types--blogs, journals, news--that can be added to the categories, thereby sharing them with your colleagues across SLA. Direct suggestions, questions, and comments to Carolyn Sosnowski in the Information Center at resources@sla.org or +1.703.647.4914. Read the press release.
SLA LEADERSHIP TRANSLATES TO JOB SUCCESS
Congratulations to Rachel Kolsky, president of SLA Europe and manager of information resources with AIG Research and Development in London, who was named Information Professional of the Year at the fourth annual International Information Industry Awards. At the same event, SLA Europe Board Member Neil Infield and his Business and IP Centre team at the British Library took home the award for the Best Team in the Academic and Public Sectors.
Rachel has been an SLA member since 1997 but when she discusses what SLA has done for her professional success, Kolsky frequently talks about how, even after a decade of membership in SLA, she is still regularly what she calls "a first timer." Kolsky explains, "Through SLA I have been given my first chance to serve in a leadership role, my first chance to manage a large group of volunteers, and a chance to grow and to learn in a way that I wouldn't get anywhere else. The skills I have acquired and honed through participation in SLA have transferred directly to the workplace, and afforded me the confidence and success that I am experiencing in my career now."
If you are still recruiting volunteers for 2007, this is a great story to tell about how SLA volunteerism has benefited a member professionally. Read more in the SLA press release.
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